If you (outside the UK) who happen to be able (*cough* dailymotion *cough*) to view the 2019 series “The Planets (2019)” from the BBC with Brian Cox, you’ll be treated to quite the visual treat.

However, it’s not the first series to be called “The Planets” and I seem to remember watching another.

It turns out there have been several such:

The Planets (1985)

The Planets (1999)

The Planets (2017)

And one that used the Holst music as the background:

The Planets (1983)

… which Cox has also done as part of the current production as a stand alone entry.

The 2019 production has outstanding special effects, so much so that I suspect there will be viewers who could be very disappointed to know that the real images from spacecraft are usually much less pretty.

Cox goes with the high-drama, less data approach, which I guess is what is needed for the mass audiences.

Anyway, this is likely to be BBC’s top science documentary for 2019.